Maverick Vinales took his Movistar Yamaha to his fifth pole of the season and his second in succession, after a slow start to his weekend with wheelspin problems in yesterday’s damp conditions which left him out of sorts, and everybody short of set-up time.
Today dawned misty but clear, and a very close qualifying session was run in bright sunshine, with a dazzling flurry in the last few minutes.
Top spot filled him with confidence, and was a boost to the championship, where he lies only 16 points adrift of joint leaders Marquez and Dovizioso.
Riding the 2018 chassis again, he said: “The bike is feeling better and better now. We just need to improve in wet conditions.”
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) had been on top, and might have stayed there had he completed his final lap. But he slipped off, and that left the way open for four other riders to get ahead.
The first, to the amazement of all, was Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha); who said later that “it was a surprise to me as well”.
Then Jorge Lorenzo circulated less than a tenth quicker for his first front row since moving to Ducati this year; then finally Vinales edged a tenth ahead of him.
The top three were covered by less than two tenths’\.
Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) also slipped ahead of Marquez to fourth, only two hundredths away from deposing Rossi. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) was sixth, for an all-Honda second row.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), equal on points with Marquez, was less than four tenths off pole, heading row three from Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and Alvaro Bautista (Aspar Ducati). Iannone (Suzuki), Zarco (Yamaha) and Mika Kallio (KTM) filled row four.
Kallio’s performance had been remarkable, putting him straight into Q2 and significantly ahead of Red Bull KTM regulars Pol Espargaro and Bradly Smith, qualified 14th and 23rd respectively.
Lorenzo and Zarco had to come through Q1, with Lorenzo claiming it as an advantage “because it meant 20 minutes more set-up time”.
Jack Miller (VDS Honda), lining up for his 100th GP start, missed the Q1 cut by just nine thousandths of a second.
MotoGP Qualifying Results
1 – Maverick Viñales (SPA – Yamaha) 1’47.635
2 – Jorge Lorenzo (SPA – Ducati) +0.100
3 – Valentino Rossi (ITA – Yamaha) +0.180
1st Independent Team Rider:
P4 – Cal Crutchlow (GBR – Honda) +0.195
Moto2
Bafflement, drama, anger, disappointment and a full range of other emotions attended the end of Moto2, after Miguel Oliveira set Red Bull KTM’s second pole of the season, had it snatched by confused officialdom in favour of Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Kalex), then was given it back five minutes later.
The Portuguese rider’s success came at the track where last year his season was badly interrupted when he was knocked down by Franco Morbidelli (VDS Kalex), who benefitted by the confusion with a brief promotion to third and the front row, before being put back to fourth again.
Oliveira was already in parc ferme, and looked stunned when he was told he had exceeded track limits and his time would be disallowed. He was back in his pit, still shaking his head, when officials came and told him they had made a mistake.
In the interim, Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Kalex) had briefly celebrated his fifth successive pole, before being put back to second, a couple of hundredth behind Oliveira.
Alex Marquez (VDS Kalex) staged an impressive comeback, placed third, although still suffering from the painful hip fracture that put him out of the last round at Misano.
Simone Corsi (Speed Up) was fifth, with class rookie Jorge Navarro (Gresini Kalex) alongside, and Morbidelli’s closest title rival Tom Luthi (CarXpert Kalex) seventh, to head row three.
Moto2 Qualifying Results
1 – Miguel Oliveira (POR – KTM) 1:53.736
2 – Mattia Pasini (ITA – Kalex) +0.021
3 – Alex Marquez (SPA – Kalex) +0.071
Moto3
Moto3 qualifying came to a dramatic conclusion with a multi-bike crash that prevented a final shuffle on the orders. A few corners before that, Del Conca Honda rider Jorge Martin had also fallen, but managed to hang on to his seventh pole this year pole by virtue of his earlier time.
In the closing seconds Enea Bastianini (EG Honda) slotted into second, pushing team-mate Aron Canet to third for another all-Honda front row.
Nicolo Bulega and SKY VR46 wild-card team-mate Dennis Foggia led row two on their KTMs, from title leader Joan Mir (Leopard Honda); with John McPhee’s Honda leading row three.
The multiple crash was triggered when Adam Norrodin high-sided his Honda in the middle of a typically close Moto3 qualifying pack. Four other riders were involved: Mir, Martin’s team-mate Di Giannantonio, and J Guevara (KTM) came down; Mugello winner Migno was sent careening off into the gravel.
Moto3 Qualifying Results
1 – Jorge Martin (SPA – Honda) +1’58.516
2 – Enea Bastianini (ITA – Honda) +0.358
3 – Aron Canet (SPA – Honda) + 0.449
by Michael Scott
